Browsers typically enable users to interact with and experience many different types of content, usually over a computer network, and often in a visual or graphical manner. For example, users may install one or more internet browsers on a local computing device, and may thereafter utilize the internet browser to access content and/or functionality provided by a remote computing device.
Many browser applications provide a user with an ability to customize or personalize appearance or functionality of the browser application in a manner desired by the user. In this way, the user may be more likely to enjoy, or benefit from, the use of the browser application. In particular, many browser applications support the use of discrete programs or files which are designed to provide a specific addition and/or alteration of one or more functionalities of an associated browser application. Such programs may be referred to using various, well-known terminologies, such as, for example, extensions, add-ons, or web apps (or just apps).
One of the features and advantages of such extensions is that users of the browser application may easily create or otherwise develop various types and kinds of such extensions. For example, a provider of a browser application may include functionality and content associated with the browser application, which enable a user thereof to create and utilize a specific type of extension that the user may desire. Moreover, in this regard, the provider of the browser application may provide additional code or other content which is designed to facilitate an ability of the user to develop extensions having a wide variety of features and functions. Thus, users may be enabled to develop such extensions, for their enjoyment and/or for the enjoyment of other users, in a manner which is straightforward and which does not require extensive programming knowledge on the part of the user.
As referenced, then, such extension applications may, by their nature, interact with the browser application and/or with content rendered by the browser application (e.g., a webpage). As a result, such extension applications are known to pose a potential security risk with respect to, e.g., a stable operation of the browser application (or related application), a confidential nature of data of the user, or with respect to other undesired actions which may be caused by malicious developers wishing to take advantage of the above-referenced nature of the types of browsers/extension platforms described above. Moreover, efforts to limit an ability of such malicious developers to leverage the open nature of such browser/extension platforms may result in limiting, to some extent, the open nature itself, and/or may negatively impact an ability of non-malicious users who wish to benefit from the features and advantages provided by such platforms.